Not Applicable
This invention relates to a wide format pagewidth inkjet printer. More particularly, this invention relates to an ink supply arrangement for a printing mechanism of a wide format pagewidth inkjet printer and to a wide format pagewidth inkjet printer.
High volume, high resolution printing is an objective that has been sought by the manufacturers of wide format printers for some time. Wide format printers have been available to the public for many years. Examples of popular wide format printers are the Hewlett Packard (HP) 1000/5000, the HP 3000/3500, the Epson 7000/10000 and many others.
These printers all have a traversing printhead that traverses a print medium while depositing ink on the medium. Applicant believes that these printers suffer from inherent disadvantages, particularly when attempts are made to utilize the design of such printers in order to achieve faster printing speeds at high resolutions.
Central to the problem of achieving high printing speeds is the ability to achieve a printhead that is capable of generating the necessary number of ink dots at a suitable rate.
Further, in order to achieve accurate printing, it is desirable that a row or band of the image be created in as little print cycles as possible, and preferably in a single print cycle. It follows that it is undesirable for a traversing printhead to be used in an attempt to achieve high print speeds and that a single printhead incorporating a suitable number of inkjet nozzles is required.
Thermal printheads also referred to as bubble jet printheads and piezoelectric printheads have been available for some time. These suffer from excessive heat build up and energy consumption and have therefore been found by the applicant to not be suitable for use in a pagewidth configuration. A number of disadvantages associated with such printheads are set out in U.S. Pat. No. 6,443,555.
The applicant has developed a printhead chip that is capable of producing images having a resolution as high as 1600 dpi. These chips are manufactured using integrated circuit fabrication techniques. Details of the chips are provided in the above referenced applications and patents. Applicant believes that these printhead chips are extremely suitable for use in wide format printers. The reason for this is that such chips operate at extremely high speeds due to the large number of nozzle arrangements required in a single chip and due to the fact that such chips can be driven at an extremely high cyclical rate.
The Applicant has been faced with a number of difficulties in order to achieve the effective use of such printhead chips in wide format printers. One particular difficulty identified by the Applicant is the effective control of a number of such printhead chips to achieve accurate printing. This control must incorporate the use of effective image processing tools that are capable of processing stored images at a rate that corresponds with the physical rate of printing achievable by a number of the above printhead chips.
Another difficulty that faces the manufacturers of wide format printers are the problems associated with heat build up. This can often result in the necessity for expensive heat extraction devices that add to the complexity of the printer.
According to a first aspect of the invention, there is provided an ink supply arrangement for a pagewidth printing mechanism that includes a number of printhead chips that are positioned in an array to span a print medium, the ink supply arrangement comprising
an elongate support structure;
a plurality of ink distribution structures that are positioned in the support structure, each ink distribution structure defining a number of ink channels in fluid communication with ink channels of an adjacent ink distribution structure such that the ink distribution structures together define ink channels that extend a length of the support structure;
a connector assembly that is engageable with an endmost ink distribution structure; and
an ink supply assembly that is engageable with the connector assembly, the ink supply assembly having a number of conduits for supplying ink to respective ink channels, the connector assembly being configured to permit the ink supply assembly to be connected to the endmost ink distribution structure such that each conduit can supply ink to each respective ink channel.
The support structure may include an elongate channel member that defines a channel in which the ink distribution structures are positioned.
The connector assembly may include an end cap member having a plurality of connectors that correspond with respective ink channels to be engageable with the endmost ink distribution structure and with respective conduits.
The supply assembly may include a number of ink containers in which respective inks can be received. Each conduit of the ink supply assembly may be an ink hose that is connected to a respective ink container to supply ink to a respective ink channel.
The ink supply assembly may include a number of ink cartridges that are detachably mounted on the support structure, each ink cartridge being in fluid communication with a respective ink container.
Each ink distribution structure may be a molding that defines the channels as ink reservoirs.
According to a second aspect of the invention, there is provided a printing mechanism that comprises
an ink supply arrangement that comprises
an elongate support structure;
a plurality of ink distribution structures that are positioned in the support structure, each ink distribution structure defining a number of ink channels in fluid communication with ink channels of an adjacent ink distribution structure such that the ink distribution structures together define ink channels that extend a length of the support structure;
a connector assembly that is engageable with an endmost ink distribution structure; and
an ink supply assembly that is engageable with the connector assembly, the ink supply assembly having a number of conduits for supplying ink to respective ink channels, the connector assembly being configured to permit the ink supply assembly to be connected to the endmost ink distribution structure such that each conduit can supply ink to each respective ink channel; and
a plurality of printhead chip carriers that are mounted on the support structure; and
a plurality of printhead chips, each printhead chip being mounted on a respective carrier.
According to a third aspect of the invention, there is provided a print assembly for a wide format pagewidth inkjet printer, the print assembly comprising
an elongate carrier that is mountable on a support structure of the printer and is positioned an operative distance from a platen of the printer;
a number of printhead chips that are mounted on the carrier, the printhead chips being provided in a number and configuration such that the printhead chips define a printing zone between the carrier and the platen, the printing zone having a length of at least 36 inches (914 mm), each printhead chip being of the type that incorporates a plurality of nozzle arrangements, each nozzle arrangement being in the form of a micro electromechanical system to achieve the ejection of ink from the nozzle arrangement; and
control circuitry that is positioned on the carrier and is operatively connected to the printhead chips to control operation of the printhead chips.
According to a fourth aspect of the invention, there is provided a wide format pagewidth inkjet printer that comprises
a support structure;
a platen positioned in the support structure;
a print assembly positioned operatively with respect to the platen, the print assembly comprising
an elongate carrier that is mounted on the support structure of the printer and is positioned an operative distance from the platen;
a number of printhead chips mounted on the carrier, the printhead chips being provided in a number and configuration such that the printhead chips define a printing zone between the carrier and the platen, the printing zone having a length of at least 36 inches (914 mm), each printhead chip being of the type that incorporates a plurality of nozzle arrangements, each nozzle arrangement being in the form of a micro electromechanical system to achieve the ejection of ink from the nozzle arrangement; and
control circuitry that is positioned on the carrier and is operatively connected to the printhead chips to control operation of the printhead chips; and
a feed mechanism that is positioned on the support structure for feeding a print medium though the printing zone.
The invention is now described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings. The following description is not intended to limit the broad scope of the above summary.